Arlene Goldbard’s Two Latest Books

Arlene Goldbard’s Two Latest Books

For decades, Arlene Goldbard has been an inspiration to arts workers for cultural democracy. The Wave and The Culture of Possibility bring together in two forms the wisdom and critical intelligence that have shaped her thought. They offer a “buffet” (food and music are integral parts of her life) that should give indigestion to those devoted to the status quo and stomach-patting fulfillment to those working toward a “conscious cultural revolution.” Reading “the world of human experience,” telling it in the “Republic of Stories,” she brings to bear a rational, compassionate activism on the most pressing issues facing our society. Both books combine astute analyses and thought-provoking gems with a real sense of hope. Both books are dialogues, and I’ll bet that most readers won’t be able to resist talking back.
—Lucy R. Lippard,
author of The Lure of the Local

In the more than 30 years that I have known her, Arlene Goldbard has been a consistent and formidable cultural warrior—intensely brilliant, articulate and full of good humor. Now she comes armed with a double-barreled shotgun—two companion works, The Culture of Possibility, a brilliant argument for the critical role and nature of art and culture, and a novel named The Wave, referred to as “speculative fiction,” examining what would be required and what our world might be like if art and culture were elevated to primary importance. There is much new, fresh thought here, and more, and entire world view that anyone seriously concerned with either category (which Ms. Goldbard ably defines) should read.
—Peter Coyote,
actor, author, Sleeping Where I Fall

Watch a video of Arlene’s NYU Book Launch on 23 May 2013, a talk followed by Q&A with leading artist-activists!

Watch a video of Arlene’s Berkeley Book Launch on 2 June 2013, a talk followed by Q&A with leading artist-activists!

Read Part 1 of a great interview by Barry Hessenius: “I loved both of these books and I strongly urge everyone who cares not just about the arts and culture, but the future of our country, to buy them and read them, and better yet, give them as gifts to people they know.” Read Part 2.

The WaveThe Culture of Possibility: Art, Artists & The FutureThe Culture of Possibility: Art, Artists & The Future and The Wave—two short books published simultaneously—tell a powerful, emergent story of art and public purpose in very different ways. They open a door to understanding for readers of any age, gender, background, or taste.

Culture is the matrix of every humane society, the power-source of the imagination, empathy, creativity, and resilience needed to activate our innate capacity for moral grandeur and social healing. Begin to see culture clearly and everything changes from despair to possibility. We know ourselves and each other through music, images, movement, and stories. Thousands of years ago, art aided our survival as a species. Today, culture is the laboratory in which we nurture compassion and discover how to improvise a livable future. And artists are both the stem cells of the body politic, generating myriad forms of beauty and meaning, and our indicator species for social well-being.

People sense the truth of this, but the guardians of the old order can’t yet see it. They keep ignoring what’s emerging and trying vainly to solve all our dilemmas with numbers. Corporation Nation is killing us: our social institutions and official understanding no longer fit reality. We are like 20th-century people trying to live in the 19th century.

The antidote to this malady is awareness: face the damage, assess our capacities and talents, envisage the possible, then bring our actions in line with the new reality. The Culture of Possibility: Art, Artists & The Future and The Wave point the way.

These days, in the Horrific Triumph of Capitalism, it seems that Hope is a Thing called Pleather. To bust these blinders, go RIGHT NOW to the rocking vision of Arlene Goldbard, a revolutionary armed with art and joy, treatises for the imagination. Her argument is—there’s No Argument! Live Art! Her writing links to songs we can dance to—what happens if the theory is a poem? Being interactive for her is a thing called Community—a Community for all Humanity. You discover yes, there is a New Consciousness, and it ain’t no digital alienation. It’s a way of living that puts the juice in, and the jazz, and the genuine. All this in a book? Open it up, and you’ll open up too.
—Bob Holman, poet, founder, Bowery Poetry Club

Today’s Business of Culture isn’t really culture. Arlene Goldbard’s new work shines a bright light on this dilemma, highlighting how important art and culture truly are and pointing toward a future in which they reclaim their proper role in society. In very different ways, I’m working to make that same future come true, so I welcome and recommend Arlene’s work.
—Jerry Michalski, REX: The Relationship Economy EXpedition